It's the software stupid...

Stealing a good line from my old Friend Jeff..

Great post from Light Reading and Om Malik on Cisco software centric strategy. I'm wondering what this means for Alcatel, Siemens, Eriscson and Co...

Cisco has already set up a special software group (yet unnamed) to develop middleware, Web applications, and services products, says one reliable source who is close to the company but asked to remained unnamed. Other sources say Cisco has indeed set up a new software group but that it may have less dramatic goals...
...So why would Cisco do this? Experts point out that with networking technology becoming increasingly commoditized -- and with a looming fret from low-cost hardware competitors in China -- Cisco could help insulate itself from these trends by moving up the software stack and marketing consulting services and developing more sophisticated software...

...Given the company's dominance in routers, something like consulting might be Cisco's best way to create new revenue streams. "There's nowhere else to go," Dzubeck says.